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Congressman Cohen’s Resolution Supporting NATO Passes House

July 11, 2018

Press Release

Affirms Alliance’s Importance as Trump attends Brussels Summit

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN), a Member of the bicameral U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (known as The Helsinki Commission), was pleased that the House of Representatives today passed his bipartisan resolution expressing support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance and reaffirming the sovereignty of our partners in Central and Eastern Europe. The text of the resolution, introduced in April 2017, can be found here.

The Congressman made the following statement:

“Today the House of Representatives sent a strong message that, no matter what the President says during the NATO Summit in Brussels, Congress strongly supports our treaty allies and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our friends in Central and Eastern Europe. As the President prepares to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is vital that he raises issues of ongoing Russian aggression in Europe including the occupation of Georgian territory, the annexation of Crimea, continued violations of Baltic airspace and threats to Moldovan territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“Members of Congress understand, as our President clearly does not, the value of stability and certainty in our diplomatic relations and the threat of continued Russian aggression. I’m pleased the House has taken the step of formally stating its support for the alliance at this time.”

The resolution passed today recognizes that NATO remains the most important and critical security link between the United States and Europe and the United States’ commitment to the principle of collective defense as laid out in Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. The incorporation of Eastern European countries into NATO has contributed to a vision of a stable and united Europe. Additionally, NATO allies and partners in both Central and Eastern Europe have stood alongside the United States in joint peace operations in the Western Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. The resolution also recognizes the United States’ strong commitment to the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and democratic development of the countries that have emerged from the former Soviet Union, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. During the past three decades, many of these countries have undertaken considerable political and economic reforms necessary to achieve aspirations for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.